Robot Action League were a BattleBots team who first competed at the 1999 Long Beach event and since fought in all five seasons of Comedy Central BattleBots, and two World Championships.
The team entered a multitude of robots spanning 20 years of competition, typically in the lightweighet division. Although none managed to win a title in their respective events, Robot Action League were known for their unique and marketable designs, none more so than their ladybug design Tentoumushi.
A subsidiary of Robot Action League known as Team KMM fought with Shaft in Seasons 1.0 and 3.0, captained by Rik Winter.
Though the team have not competed in the show since World Championship II, team member Lisa Winter has since become a full-time judge for the show, a role she retains to this day. She has also sporadically posted BattleBots-related content to her YouTube channel.[1]
Outside BattleBots[]
Mike Winter originally competed in US Robot Wars events. In 1994, he built X1, a six-wheeled robot armed with a stabbing spike. It won the inaugural middleweight championship after defeating South Bay Mauler in the final. He would build X2 for future events as well as Dough Boy, which was Lisa Winter's introduction into combat robotics.
Mike and daughter Lisa Winter traveled to the United Kingdom in 1999 to participate in Series 3 of Robot Wars with Tentoumushi. Tentoumushi fought in two side competitions aired as part of the series: the Middleweight Melee, which it finished as joint winner alongside the British A-Kill, and the War of Independence, in which it defeated A-Kill to claim outright victory.
Team member Lauren Winter, sister to Mike and aunt to Lisa, sadly passed away in December 2023.[2]
Team Members[]
Mike Winter[]
Robot Action League founder Mike Winter worked as an engineering program manager for Sony before founding numerous robotics companies. He returned to BattleBots in 2015, relinquishing captaincy to his daughter Lisa Winter.
Lisa Winter[]
Having competed since the inception of Comedy Central BattleBots, Lisa Winter has since become a full-time BattleBots judge and an advocate for STEM education for young women.
Main article: Lisa Winter
Jim Sellers[]
Perhaps best known as the builder of lightweight Afterthought, Jim Sellers also entered Rasta into the 1999 Long Beach competition. He sadly passed away in 2016.
Will Wright[]
Captain of Chiabot (later Super Chiabot), he previously joined Mike Winter as part of the crew behind RACC. He also designed and built lightweight The Aggressive Polygon, which had less success. He is best known for his work as the original designer of The Sims series of video games, as well as Spore.
Cassidy Wright[]
Daughter to Will Wright, she was the main name behind Misty the WonderBot. Cassidy also designed and drove Chiabot for its two BattleBots seasons.
Robots[]
| Robots | Weight Class | Season |
|---|---|---|
| Tentoumushi | Lightweight | Long Beach 1999 Season 1.0 Season 2.0 Season 3.0 Season 4.0 Season 5.0 |
| RACC | Lightweight | Long Beach 1999 |
| Rasta | Lightweight | Long Beach 1999 |
| Afterthought | Lightweight | Season 1.0 Season 2.0 Season 4.0 |
| Chiabot | Lightweight | Season 1.0 |
| Middleweight | Season 2.0 Season 3.0 Season 4.0 Season 5.0 | |
| The Aggressive Polygon | Lightweight | Season 1.0 |
| Shaft | Lightweight | Season 1.0 Season 3.0 |
| Space Operations Force (formerly Spin Orbiting Force) | Middleweight | Season 1.0 Season 2.0 |
| Whirl Wep | Lightweight | Season 3.0 Season 4.0 Season 5.0 |
| Misty the WonderBot | Middleweight | Season 4.0 Season 5.0 |
| Plan X | Heavyweight | World Championship I |
| Mega Tento | Heavyweight | World Championship II |
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Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 32
- Losses: 30
See Also[]
Trivia[]
- Mike and Lisa Winter featured on the cover of the June 2018 edition of Make Magazine.